The Business Connection

Hi there! I'm Bree.

Thank you so much for agreeing to be photographed for Darebin City Council's business magazine; The Business Connection. I'm sure that having your photograph taken is not among your favourite things to do, but I am pretty easy to work with and aim to make the process as painless as possible.

How will the sessions work?

By now I have probably been in touch with you to work out a date and time for your shoot (if not, check out the Doodle Poll here). Please fill in the form below to confirm this date and give me important information such as your address.

Open Form

The Business Connection

Name *

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email Address *

Phone number *

Date of session (leave blank if TBC)

Date of session (leave blank if TBC)

MM

DD

YYYY

Address where the session will take place (this will probably be your home, workplace, or studio) *

Address where the session will take place (this will probably be your home, workplace, or studio)

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Let know know as much as you can about the lighting conditions at this location. For example; is there good natural light at the location? Is it lit only by direct sunlight with no shade? Is it dark and lit by artificial light? And so on. *

How do you generally feel about having your photo taken? Is there anything about your face or body that you particularly dislike in photos? *

Have you been photographed by a professional photographer before? Was this a positive experience? Why/Why not? *

Anything else I should know? Any concerns about your session?

Thank you!

Your session will take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the brief that I have been given by Big Talk. Generally, we will be looking to get some lovely 'environmental portrait' style images of you in your shop/workshop/studio etc. An 'environmental portrait' is an image that tells a story about the subject, giving us an insight into who they are and what they are about. Darebin City Council very much want to focus on the person/people behind the business, so you and/or your team will be in most of the images. Most people don't like having their photo taken, so I'm sure the thought of having a large camera pointed at you doesn't fill you with joy! I will try to make the experience as comfortable as possible, so please try not to worry.

Once the session is over, I will edit the images down and then Big Talk will decide on the final images and layout of The Business Connection.

How to prepare for your session

I must apologise if some of these tips sound pedantic, obvious, or are not applicable to you. I have learnt, though, that it is always better to give every subject these tips rather than risk having a subject turn up unprepared.

Try to have a good night's sleep and not drink the night before.

Iron you clothes. Little details like a cease in your shirt may not be noticeable in 'real-life', but become noticeable in a photograph.

Wear some makeup to bring out your features, the camera tends to wash people out slightly.

Bring a hairbrush. I generally advise women to wear their hair down or partly down. If you wear it in a ponytail it can look like you have no hair from some angles.

Try to make sure you are looking generally 'well-groomed'. For example; pluck your eyebrows and have your roots done.

If you commonly wear both contacts and glasses, consider wearing contacts. This will mean that we don't have to deal with glare on your glasses. If you prefer to wear glasses, we will of course work around this.

When choosing your outfit, have a think about the image you are wanting to portray (professional? creative? casual?). It can be a good idea to bring a few different tops so we have a choice. Simple clothes tend to look more timeless. Fitted clothing tends to look better as baggy or flowing clothing can make you look bigger than you are. Mid-tones tend to photograph better, and it's best to avoid all white or all black (black and white together or with other colours is fine though). In general, please don't wear tops with brand names, logos, writing or drawings on them, unless you are wearing a work uniform that has your business logo on it. Simple patterns like small polka dots, stripes, or delicate florals, can look great.

Have a think about whether there a part of your face or body that you generally dislike in photographs, and I will do my best to minimise this. Please don't be embarrassed to tell me, we all have these insecurities! For me it's my double chin and teeth that are too big for my face. If you're interested in learning how to minimise a double chin in photographs, have a look at this video by renowned headshot photographer Peter Hurley. It changed my life.

Important information

The final images I deliver to Big Talk will be selected by me. A very important, dare I say essential, part of a photographer's work is to edit down the images from a session to the final, best images. I will take many images during the session, and while these images help me to create the final product by allowing me to test the light, exposure, poses, facial expressions and so on, they are not the final product themselves.

From these images, Big Talk will decide on the images that are included in The Business Connection.

During the session, I will ask you to sign a model release. This gives Big Talk/Darebin City Council the right to use your images. With your permission, I may also use some of the images to promote recent work to potential clients.

Contact me here if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to meeting you!